TNT hopes to capitalize on original programming

A few years ago, television producers Steven Bochco and Mike Robin were lunching in Beverly Hills when Bochco began lamenting the grim development climate at broadcast networks. Robin, producer of The Closer, told Bochco he ought to meet TNT's Michael Wright, the executive in charge of original content.

He did. Bochco, the force behind such television classics as Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue, pitched a series about a fundamentally flawed, dysfunctional criminal-justice system. Wright said yes almost immediately, and TNT eventually ordered 10 episodes of Raising the Bar, which Bochco co-wrote with lawyer and author David Feige. The series, to premiere later this year, stars Jane Kaczmarek as a judge and Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Gloria Reuben as attorneys.

Bochco and Robin are part of an unprecedented creative expansion at TNT. Three years ago, the network had two original series in production; now it's developing more than 20 scripts. Like many cable networks, TNT has snatched top talent who were being ignored or were disaffected by management at the networks.

TNT's ambitious goal is to replace four out of five of its acquired shows - which include the landmark Law & Order franchise - on its Monday through Wednesday prime-time schedule with original shows, according to Steve Koonin, senior vice president of content creation for TNT and sister stations TBS and TCM.

"The business model that's been in place for 50 years is changing," he said. Advertisers are aware that over the past three years, news, sports, children's programming, and original series all have been moving to cable, he said. "Now is the time, and talent is migrating to us."

Monday, the network ordered 13 episodes of "Truth in Advertising," a series produced by the Shephard/Robin Co. and the same team behind TNT's biggest hit, The Closer.

TNT's new slate also includes a modern-day, urban Robin Hood drama, Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton and created by Dean Devlin (Independence Day). Robert Redford is coproducing a family drama, Generations, about several generations growing up in the same house. Mark Burnett and Ridley Scott are making reality shows about weddings and famous crimes, respectively.

Wright said the creative expansion was based on a grand design catering to TNT's viewers - the sort of educated Middle Americans who made The Closer a hit show. Last year, "The Closer," starring Kyra Sedgwick, became basic cable's most-watched scripted series of all time, with more than 9 million viewers. Its fourth season is scheduled to premiere in July